Cast announced for The Ladies Football Club world premiere – including a Strictly Come Dancing champion

Casting has been announced for Sheffield Theatres’ world premiere production of The Ladies Football Club, written by Stefano Massini and adapted by Tim Firth.

The production will run at the Crucible Theatre from 28 February to 28 March 2026 and will be directed by Sheffield Theatres artistic director Elizabeth Newman, with movement by Scott Graham of Frantic Assembly.

The play is based on Massini’s work and has been newly adapted for the stage by Firth. Set in Sheffield during the First World War, it follows a group of women who take up football while working in munitions factories, discovering a sense of solidarity and purpose through the game as it grows in popularity with large audiences.

The cast includes Jessica Baglow as Rosalyn, Leah Brotherhead as Hayley, Lesley Hart as Berenice, Bettrys Jones as Olivia, Ellie Leach as Brianna, Clair Norris as Melanie, Anne Odeke as Justine, Krupa Pattani as Cheryl, Cara Theobold as Violet, Chanel Waddock as Penelope and Charley Webb as Abigail. Joy Adeogun and Jamie Randall will appear as swings for the production.

The creative team also includes designer Grace Smart, lighting designer Ben Jacobs, sound designer and composer Ella Wahlström, video designer Joe Ransom and composers Ella Wahlström, Tim Firth and Steve Parry. Casting is by Juliet Horsley, with Ben Occhipinti as associate director, Pierre Flasse as associate sound designer, Flo Gill as assistant director and additional musical arrangements and recording by Steve Parry.

The Ladies Football Club marks a new collaboration between Massini, whose previous work includes The Lehman Trilogy, and Firth, whose writing credits include Calendar Girls.